Molepolole is an urban village about 50km from Gaborone with significant historical, cultural and religious relevance to Botswana. I ran in Molepolole for the first time last year. Starting at Scottish Livingstone Hospital , we ran towards the village centre, continuing all the way to the main kgotla before heading back to the hospital again and were amazed by all the sights and sounds.
I am native of Molepolole. You know us, the villagers, we pass along those landmarks daily, unaware of their beauty and historical significance. We thank people like you who make us stop, stand, and stare. On 20th April, Ditiro and I celebrated our 20th relationship anniversary. We had always intended to run 20km to mark the day but when we heard the Molepolole Half would be held on 22nd April, we decided to do the race as a celebration of the day.
Just days before the race, Ditiro found a guy close to where he worked who could do it for us. Never having used him before, I was slightly worried, but I loved the final product. There was no race-bib collection in Gaborone, but we were assured that we could pick up our bibs when we got to the start venue, Lewis Memorial Primary School, on race morning. We arrived at around 5am and found my sister NJ and our friend Leruo who were also participating in the race.
It was still quite dark, and I happily waited in the car with NJ, while Ditiro and Leruo collected the race bibs. It being my first Half in many months, I was feeling quite anxious about the distance.
But I was also comforted by the fact that I would be running with Ditiro. Little did I know then just how great this decision to run together actually was! Now do you see why? I did have my suspicions when it was announced on social media that there would be no prize money for women in the Half. There was prize money for women in the 10K, so I thought, maybe there are too few women? When they called the Half Marathoners to the start, a small group of young athletic men approached, and then⦠me!
